Thursday, September 8, 2011

Birmingham, Alabama September 6, 2011 – A $13.3 million federally funded anti-smoking campaign led by a Birmingham public relations firm aimed at making Alabama a smoke-free state will result in a loss of businesses, jobs, tax revenues and citizen rights, according to the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association.

Gee, what timing the Obama administration has with our president set to give a speech on creating, not eliminating, jobs this evening. What fools we have all been. This is not the only federal stimulus grant that has gone towards anti-smoking. This has been taking place virtually all over the country. Call it what it is, a job killer, a freedom of association killer, a private property rights killer, and an assault on individual liberties; and what makes it even worse is that it's all being done through a back door while our president gets set to convince us all that he really is for the little guy. This cloak and dagger approach in behavior modification amounts to nothing more than the outright bribery and extortion of local officials, a de facto subversion of local law where the local citizenry loses its representation to the deep-pocketed lobbyists in Washington.

“The PR firm – The Modern Brand – should be ashamed of itself for taking the people’s money to manipulate them out of their constitutional rights while jeopardizing their businesses, jobs, and state and federal tax revenues,” McCalla said.

6 comments:

West Hollywood is about to go over that same cliff. Pleeeease, help us turn it around... we actually have a chance to do it! Governor Brown just signed into law SB 332 which gives landlords the right to evict long-time residents if they smoke, but it allows cities to write ordinances to preempt it before Jan 1. Also before Jan 1 implementation, working with restaurants, I'm trying to get Weho's outdoor smoking ban amended to allow separated smoking sections on restaurant patios instead of the complete ban. Both of these anti-smoking measures can be turned around with one person's vote... West Hollywood Mayor Pro Tempore Jeff Prang. Mayor Duran and new councilmember John D'Amico already recognize the importance of keeping West Hollywood a bastion of freedom. Everyone can help by emailing Jeff Prang at jprang@weho.org - asking him to preserve everyone's freedom of choice by voting for an ordinance to protect all tenants and to amend the outdoor smoking ban. The other thing you can do is come to Weho restaurants... where you can still smoke (banned in LA) to show our business still counts. Big Thanks!

St Louis County, Missouri recieved a 7.6 million anti-smoking grant. Of that $545,000 was given to Tobacco-Free St Louis, a non-profit that a couple of the St Louis County Health Department members are board members of. All of this happened after St Louis passed a ban. The money is aimed at removing the exemptions of bars and private clubs.

What is intersting is that the grant money from the CDC as part of the stimulus package actually calls for public money to change legislation. We have public money that is being spent for government to lobby government.

They contracted with a PR firm to monitor internet and media activity to develop a message. The contract was for two million. They will probably read this blog.

"What is intersting is that the grant money from the CDC as part of the stimulus package actually calls for public money to change legislation. We have public money that is being spent for government to lobby government."

That doesn't sound very democratic or legal. Thanks for your insights Tony.

"They contracted with a PR firm to monitor internet and media activity to develop a message. The contract was for two million. They will probably read this blog."

If that is true, then it is truly a sad day in America. I will always speak my mind; I'm a free citizen who holds the 1st amendment in the highest regards. Let them read my blog...creeps.

Anonymous- I would love to help. ..And yes, I already frequent WEHO restaurants and clubs, as they are the only ones that welcome me. I have spoken (via e-mail) to Mayor Duran in the past (when he was still a councilman), so I know that he is on our side. Are you in WEHO? If so, I'd be willing to work with you to get the word out before Jan. 1st. Maybe we can get some other folks involved as well. I'll be checking my inbox to see if you get back to me:-)

The Epidemiological Evidence for Less Hazardous Cigarettes

"The justification for less hazardous or virtually safe cigarettes derives directly from epidemiologic studies. All studies that have linked cigarette smoking with various diseases have also noted that the risks increase with the number of cigarettes smoked daily, with the intensity of inhalation, with how much of a cigarette is smoked, whether the cigarette is filtered or not, and with other features that define the amount, i.e. the DOSE, of smoke inhaled" Dr. Gori-Virtually Safe Cigarettes